Woohoo!!! Our ears are still ringing and throats scratchy from whooping it up all day at the Royal Easter Show. The Olympic complex was very impressive, and handled the crowd of 150,000 with ease. Thanks to our Rotary hosts, we enjoyed the privileges of the Members Stand, which was most considerately situated ringside to all the EQUINE events. Does it get any better? Cotton candy is called fairy floss here, and we had corn dogs and pizza and ice cream and fish n chips, and sampled all manner of offerings in the food dome. No sign of fried dough anywhere, alas, but I'll get my fix in the fall : )
The day was overcast and cool = perfect for watching motocross and the Toyota Hilux team (SKS, you would have looooved it); showjumping, polo, campdrafting (a rather mysterious event), motocross again, and finally, at 9pm, the dairy famers fireworks finale, during which they played that song "I Come From a Land Down Under". There's a moment to remember...
In between all that, we walked around the exhibition halls and barns; I fell in love with a horse named Mr. Darcy, found a bee-yoo-tee-ful saddle for Fredd (ha!) and watched a 9 year-old girl on the perfect-sized pony have a dressage lesson (she was so good! nice team) and, of course, people watched...
Well, this is not a very coherent posting, but I guess it'll have to do ... 12 hours from now we'll be white water rafting, so some sleep would be good ...
* A gold star to anyone who knows where that line is from ... Mom, I know you know; saw some of your old bovine pals today : )
Friday, March 21, 2008
A Very Full Day
Tuesday was a very full day for Mina and I. We were picked up by Ivo Slezacek, a retired small animal veterinarian at 6:30 am. We went to Leppington farm which is the largest dairy in Australia. The farm is currently milking over 1700 cows three times a day. They are trying to get back 2000. One of their innovations was to buy bread at $85/ton and used a shredder to pull out all the plastic. This saved $ due to the high cost of grain. It was the cleanest dairy we had ever seen. We then met with the traveling vet, Bob Rheinberger. Bob does their herd health work. He has an extensive large animal practice with 2 other vets and he is starting small animal practice.
We then went to Strathfield in Metro Sydney. Dr Sarah Goldsmid, a boarded surgeon, gave us a tour of the Animal Referral Hospital. It was a crowded but modern referral center with 2 surgeons, cardiologist, 2 opthomologists, an oncologist (Tony Moore formerly of Tufts), CT, etc. The staff consists of 85 people. We were able to ask a lot of questions.
We then stopped at the Queen Victoria Building which is a large shopping complex in downtown Sydney for a quick tour and snack. We stopped briefly at the Sydney bridge and opera house for a photo opportunity.
We arrived at the Taronga Zoo 50 minutes before our appt at 3 pm. We were able to get visitor’s passes and saw chimps, gorillas, ostriches, elephants, etc while waiting. We then got a tour of the wildlife rehabilitation and zoo hospital with the lead vet, Dr. Larry Vogelnest. It was interesting to see all their capabilities with a full time pathology lab, quarantine facilities, post mortem rooms etc. We saw several small animals in their cages.
We returned to Penrith and were picked up by a small bus to go for drive to Keith and Marilyn Willoughby’s house for a barbeque. We had asked to get the team together Tuesday night and Marilyn offered her place. There house was large and gorgeous with a full bar and movie theatre, large deck overlooking the water. The hospitality was great and we had a lot of comraderie and great discussions. An unusual rendition of Swing low, Sweet Chariot will be a lasting memory. We returned home after midnight after a very full and very satisfying day.
We then went to Strathfield in Metro Sydney. Dr Sarah Goldsmid, a boarded surgeon, gave us a tour of the Animal Referral Hospital. It was a crowded but modern referral center with 2 surgeons, cardiologist, 2 opthomologists, an oncologist (Tony Moore formerly of Tufts), CT, etc. The staff consists of 85 people. We were able to ask a lot of questions.
We then stopped at the Queen Victoria Building which is a large shopping complex in downtown Sydney for a quick tour and snack. We stopped briefly at the Sydney bridge and opera house for a photo opportunity.
We arrived at the Taronga Zoo 50 minutes before our appt at 3 pm. We were able to get visitor’s passes and saw chimps, gorillas, ostriches, elephants, etc while waiting. We then got a tour of the wildlife rehabilitation and zoo hospital with the lead vet, Dr. Larry Vogelnest. It was interesting to see all their capabilities with a full time pathology lab, quarantine facilities, post mortem rooms etc. We saw several small animals in their cages.
We returned to Penrith and were picked up by a small bus to go for drive to Keith and Marilyn Willoughby’s house for a barbeque. We had asked to get the team together Tuesday night and Marilyn offered her place. There house was large and gorgeous with a full bar and movie theatre, large deck overlooking the water. The hospitality was great and we had a lot of comraderie and great discussions. An unusual rendition of Swing low, Sweet Chariot will be a lasting memory. We returned home after midnight after a very full and very satisfying day.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Catching Up = Tuesday
Time flies when you're having fun, eh?
Tuesday was a vocational day and I went to Muru Mittigar, an aboriginal education and cultural center. The 5 acre facility is a wonderful outreach tool for communicating the history and influence of aboriginal culture, and employs 50 people. Rab and Tom presented their information to a large group of fourth graders in a matter-of-fact, nonpolitical way that captured the children's attention and emphasized that aboriginal culture is to some extent a part of their lives, whether through place names or familiar items like boomerangs,which were hunting tools.
The children attended a private school and all wore light blue polos, dark blue shorts, and blue floppy hats to protect them from the sun. A few were fidgety in their seats, but overall they were impressively engaged and participating, answering questions and always remembering to raise their hand first, index finger pointing to the sky. The boys were particularly interested in learning about the weapons ...
After lunch, Tom took half the group to a field to demonstrate the boomerang, which was a big hit. "Again! Again! Again!" the kids chanted when he didn't catch it. "Throw it as hard as you can, make it hit the mower!" yelled one boy.
Eight of the students got to try for themselves before going for a plant walk, during which I talked with the front office about their advertising and publicity efforts.
When the children left, there was time for a quick boomerang lesson of my own with Tom before my ride came, and though I didn't risk knocking my own head off with it, by the third try it was at least spinning out in an arc. Will have to work on that.
Dinner - well, for dinner we all boarded a bus and headed out to Pete's host family's home on the river, a lovely place an hour away with plenty of room for outdoor entertaining. We enjoyed a barbecue and the hospitality; some of the group engaged in a lively political discussion, and oh yes, by the end of the night there was singing...
While talking with Mina's host Chris about his Cessna and love of flying, he said, "Flying over Australia, the poetry just comes out of the ground." I thought that was lovely.
He also said that flying along the coast at 500 feet, it's not unusual to look down and see a surfer riding one wave, and an enormous shark one wave behind (see, Olivia, you were right, so thanks for the shark warning! hey, what are you doing for your 10th birthday party?). If the situation is serious he'll buzz the surfer, and that's an understood code for get out of Dodge.
I guess you never really know how close you come to something that could change your life; aren't we all just skimming along the surface, riding one wave or another to where we think we're supposed to go?
Tuesday was a vocational day and I went to Muru Mittigar, an aboriginal education and cultural center. The 5 acre facility is a wonderful outreach tool for communicating the history and influence of aboriginal culture, and employs 50 people. Rab and Tom presented their information to a large group of fourth graders in a matter-of-fact, nonpolitical way that captured the children's attention and emphasized that aboriginal culture is to some extent a part of their lives, whether through place names or familiar items like boomerangs,which were hunting tools.
The children attended a private school and all wore light blue polos, dark blue shorts, and blue floppy hats to protect them from the sun. A few were fidgety in their seats, but overall they were impressively engaged and participating, answering questions and always remembering to raise their hand first, index finger pointing to the sky. The boys were particularly interested in learning about the weapons ...
After lunch, Tom took half the group to a field to demonstrate the boomerang, which was a big hit. "Again! Again! Again!" the kids chanted when he didn't catch it. "Throw it as hard as you can, make it hit the mower!" yelled one boy.
Eight of the students got to try for themselves before going for a plant walk, during which I talked with the front office about their advertising and publicity efforts.
When the children left, there was time for a quick boomerang lesson of my own with Tom before my ride came, and though I didn't risk knocking my own head off with it, by the third try it was at least spinning out in an arc. Will have to work on that.
Dinner - well, for dinner we all boarded a bus and headed out to Pete's host family's home on the river, a lovely place an hour away with plenty of room for outdoor entertaining. We enjoyed a barbecue and the hospitality; some of the group engaged in a lively political discussion, and oh yes, by the end of the night there was singing...
While talking with Mina's host Chris about his Cessna and love of flying, he said, "Flying over Australia, the poetry just comes out of the ground." I thought that was lovely.
He also said that flying along the coast at 500 feet, it's not unusual to look down and see a surfer riding one wave, and an enormous shark one wave behind (see, Olivia, you were right, so thanks for the shark warning! hey, what are you doing for your 10th birthday party?). If the situation is serious he'll buzz the surfer, and that's an understood code for get out of Dodge.
I guess you never really know how close you come to something that could change your life; aren't we all just skimming along the surface, riding one wave or another to where we think we're supposed to go?
Monday, March 17, 2008
A day in Penrith
Today started out as they all have here in Australia.....just beautiful. The weather again cooperated for us and continues to remind us of how lucky we are. It was St. Patrick's day here in Australia. No lepracons, but Albert and Bryan from the Penrith club took us out and around the Penrith Lakes project. We stopped at the oldest church and school in New South Wales and got some lovely photos. Next stop was the Olympic kayak center where we raced to the top of the medal stand and waved to our adoring crowd of Steve, Albert, and Bryan. I think they thought the team a bit crazy, but come on.....who hasn't dreamed of standing atop the Olympic stand with your national anthem playing proudly.
The 5000 acre area is an active quarry for stone and sand used in the local building industry when mixed into cement. In another 5 years or so the project will come to completion and the rehabilitation will begin in earnest creating many lakes and a beautiful recreation area for the greater Sydney area. Quite an interesting project really. We got a birds eye view from a look out just into the blue mountain national forest. These mountains and valleys are just gorgeous.
The ride to our next destination, the fire museum, was quite interesting. Steve and I rode with Albert and gave us a good history lesson on Australia's role in World War II. We often focus on just our own involvement and emphasize the European Theater. The U.S. had over 1 million troops stationed in Australia during the war and used it as a staging area for many of its operations in the south Pacific. The Japanese were very interested in invading Australia and were present in this area. Just last year a Japanese submarine was discovered in Sydney harbor. The harbor area sustained damage from subs during the war and perhaps more interesting to us was what happened in Darwin. The Japanese bombed mainland Australia in Darwin and did significant damage. This information was suppressed and covered up for over 40 years to the general populace so as not to create a panic.
Another interesting tid bit I heard on the radio this morning is that the Battleship Sydney was just discovered off the cost of Perth following the discovery of the German ship it sank in sea battle there. There were no survivors of the 645 crew members aboard the Sydney although many Germans did survive the battle. Little is know about the battle and it is hoped the wreckage may provide some insight.
The fire museum was also very interesting. The Penrith Rotary has done much for the museum over the years and they were only to happy to give us the Queen's tour. Sean, our tour guide, did an outstanding job and gave it a very personal touch. We certainly appreciated his efforts. I found in most interesting that amount their many restored trucks and pieces of equipment was an 1891 Dennis steamer. They have a photo of it in the first centennial parade back in 1901 and isn't it amazing it was able to participate 100 years late in the bicentennial parade in 2001. Certainly a testament to how well fire fighters take care of their equipment.
After lunch at Albert's we all headed to the mall to shop a bit and headed home with our host families. We had dinner at the top of the hill grill that had a correspondingly great view of Sydney at night. Keith and Marilyn have hosted many GSE members and exchange students over the years and we had a lively conversation about that.
Tomorrow we head to our vocational visits and what should be a great day. Stay tuned and Stay Classy San Diego.
The 5000 acre area is an active quarry for stone and sand used in the local building industry when mixed into cement. In another 5 years or so the project will come to completion and the rehabilitation will begin in earnest creating many lakes and a beautiful recreation area for the greater Sydney area. Quite an interesting project really. We got a birds eye view from a look out just into the blue mountain national forest. These mountains and valleys are just gorgeous.
The ride to our next destination, the fire museum, was quite interesting. Steve and I rode with Albert and gave us a good history lesson on Australia's role in World War II. We often focus on just our own involvement and emphasize the European Theater. The U.S. had over 1 million troops stationed in Australia during the war and used it as a staging area for many of its operations in the south Pacific. The Japanese were very interested in invading Australia and were present in this area. Just last year a Japanese submarine was discovered in Sydney harbor. The harbor area sustained damage from subs during the war and perhaps more interesting to us was what happened in Darwin. The Japanese bombed mainland Australia in Darwin and did significant damage. This information was suppressed and covered up for over 40 years to the general populace so as not to create a panic.
Another interesting tid bit I heard on the radio this morning is that the Battleship Sydney was just discovered off the cost of Perth following the discovery of the German ship it sank in sea battle there. There were no survivors of the 645 crew members aboard the Sydney although many Germans did survive the battle. Little is know about the battle and it is hoped the wreckage may provide some insight.
The fire museum was also very interesting. The Penrith Rotary has done much for the museum over the years and they were only to happy to give us the Queen's tour. Sean, our tour guide, did an outstanding job and gave it a very personal touch. We certainly appreciated his efforts. I found in most interesting that amount their many restored trucks and pieces of equipment was an 1891 Dennis steamer. They have a photo of it in the first centennial parade back in 1901 and isn't it amazing it was able to participate 100 years late in the bicentennial parade in 2001. Certainly a testament to how well fire fighters take care of their equipment.
After lunch at Albert's we all headed to the mall to shop a bit and headed home with our host families. We had dinner at the top of the hill grill that had a correspondingly great view of Sydney at night. Keith and Marilyn have hosted many GSE members and exchange students over the years and we had a lively conversation about that.
Tomorrow we head to our vocational visits and what should be a great day. Stay tuned and Stay Classy San Diego.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
A Day at Springwood High School
I spent my first vocational day with my host-mum, Marilyn Kenney. In addition to being a terrific cook and a thoughtful host, Marilyn happens to be Deputy Principal of Springwood High School (a DP is equivalent to the role of Assistant Principal). Springwood High School is a secondary school comprised of about 800 students in grades 7-12. Like the administrators at my local high school, Marilyn is the lightening rod for all sorts of student-related challenges. She no sooner walked into the building—at the early hour of 7:15am—when she was called upon to help two students reexamine their rather liberal interpretations of the dress code. Another student came by to inquire about the upcoming Vaccination Day, which is when students receive all the nationally required immunizations free of charge. A parent called. Kids stopped by. The principal touched base about a few students. Another parent called. Two parents showed up unannounced to talk with Marilyn about their son. Two teachers came looking for advice and guidance.
Before I knew it, we were gobbling down our lunches while Marilyn listened to a student describe her challenges in French class. Marilyn, or Ms. Kenney to the kids, administered a dose of tough love with a side of support and sent the student on her way.
We made it to the Deputy Principals’ In-service Workshop just in time to enjoy a “cuppa” and some talk with fellow colleagues. The theme of the workshop was Cyber-Safe Schools. We viewed examples of cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying; we were also lucky enough to be participate in a panel discussion with several experts in the field.
Before I knew it, we were gobbling down our lunches while Marilyn listened to a student describe her challenges in French class. Marilyn, or Ms. Kenney to the kids, administered a dose of tough love with a side of support and sent the student on her way.
We made it to the Deputy Principals’ In-service Workshop just in time to enjoy a “cuppa” and some talk with fellow colleagues. The theme of the workshop was Cyber-Safe Schools. We viewed examples of cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying; we were also lucky enough to be participate in a panel discussion with several experts in the field.
Another Beautiful Day
Well in short once again it was hard to leave our wonderful host families this morning from the Springwood club. Laurie, Beverly, and Nyree Waterson were beautiful hosts and an outstanding family. They made my stay quite nice. We had a wonderful golf outing and Nyree introduced me to the world of Nintendo Wii. Certainly a lot of fun. I got over my cold while there and am looking forward to an illness free remainder of our trip. The barbeque hosted for us last night was quite special and Aunt Betty used it as an additonal vocational day to work on her nursing skills. She is quite professional in that respect.
After a quick change to the Penrith club we proceeded out in to the country side to visit a wonderful inn and pub said to be the oldest in New South Wales. We had a relaxing afternoon there surrounded by visitors and antique cars. We have been blessed by such great weather it is amazing.
We are all looking forward to our time in Penrith after a good nights rest.
After a quick change to the Penrith club we proceeded out in to the country side to visit a wonderful inn and pub said to be the oldest in New South Wales. We had a relaxing afternoon there surrounded by visitors and antique cars. We have been blessed by such great weather it is amazing.
We are all looking forward to our time in Penrith after a good nights rest.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
At 3:15 pm today Pete, Mina and I were gathered with our host families at a picnic table in St. Albans at the Settlers Arms Inn (1836) when the band there started playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" - which might be exactly where we have landed, the land that we heard of once in a lullabye, where dreams really do come true, a place where Rotary is showing every day what interactions between people and nations can do - and hey, peace needs to start somewhere, so let it begin with us.
This morning we met for breakfast and turned ourselves over to the welcoming Penrith RC. Once we got sorted out - and I don't know whose idea it was - we headed out for a drive through entirely different terrain, flatter, lots of horses, some cattle ... up and down and around curves until we came to a river crossing, which was done by a small ferry that could carry about 12 cars. Then on to the Settlers Arms Inn, a great pub seemingly in the middle of nowhere that had music and sunshine and food - and as we got to know each other, lots of laughs and fun as well.
There was a stunning collection of antique cars there, and one definitely caught my eye: a 1938 two-tone green Lagonda, which I'd never heard of, but it reminded me A LOT of Gram and Grampa's '37 Pontiac, so I was only a year off in guessing its age! Anyway, besides looking like it, it smelled EXACTLY like it, and Mom, Dad, Thom, Karen, you know what I'm talking about. Hey Laura, do you remember riding around standing up behind the front seat (the only seat)? : ) The owner said I could have it, ha ha ... he said the company was founded by an American in England. An exPontiac employee, perhaps?
Had a chat with an older gentleman who was staying at the inn, he'd buried 20 ounces of gold somewhere around decades before and now with the price going up, he thought he'd try to find it ... happy hunting!
~ The inn was built by convict labor of handhewn sandstone andwas a stopover for the stagecoaces travelling between Sydney, Parramatta and Newcastle along the Old Northern Road. Now it's o the wa to the Hunter Valley wineries.
I guess I better go for now, hope all is well with everyone. Tomorrow's another adventure!
This morning we met for breakfast and turned ourselves over to the welcoming Penrith RC. Once we got sorted out - and I don't know whose idea it was - we headed out for a drive through entirely different terrain, flatter, lots of horses, some cattle ... up and down and around curves until we came to a river crossing, which was done by a small ferry that could carry about 12 cars. Then on to the Settlers Arms Inn, a great pub seemingly in the middle of nowhere that had music and sunshine and food - and as we got to know each other, lots of laughs and fun as well.
There was a stunning collection of antique cars there, and one definitely caught my eye: a 1938 two-tone green Lagonda, which I'd never heard of, but it reminded me A LOT of Gram and Grampa's '37 Pontiac, so I was only a year off in guessing its age! Anyway, besides looking like it, it smelled EXACTLY like it, and Mom, Dad, Thom, Karen, you know what I'm talking about. Hey Laura, do you remember riding around standing up behind the front seat (the only seat)? : ) The owner said I could have it, ha ha ... he said the company was founded by an American in England. An exPontiac employee, perhaps?
Had a chat with an older gentleman who was staying at the inn, he'd buried 20 ounces of gold somewhere around decades before and now with the price going up, he thought he'd try to find it ... happy hunting!
~ The inn was built by convict labor of handhewn sandstone andwas a stopover for the stagecoaces travelling between Sydney, Parramatta and Newcastle along the Old Northern Road. Now it's o the wa to the Hunter Valley wineries.
I guess I better go for now, hope all is well with everyone. Tomorrow's another adventure!
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